YOUR Favorite Recordings
If you read this, you’re aware of a lot of my favorite recordings. But how about yours? I’d be interested in hearing from people about a few of their favorite recordings or record labels…and why? Musical performance? Songs? Sonics? All of the above? Something I’m not thinking of? Let’s hear about it!
Oh, and since this [...]
“Jazz” of the Online World
I like the idea of blogs. I have to admit I find most of them deadly boring and self-serving (i.e. to sell ad space or rant on about how difficult the author’s life is), but the overall concept is appealing to me. I guess I see it as the jazz of the online world.
I’ve written [...]
Niche Market
A few days back I mentioned how the home theatre system is really driving the hi-fi market, as the music industry isn’t so focused on quality as it is convenience (.mp3s and iPods). There are, however, a handful of music labels that are still dedicated to top-quality music recording and production.
Chesky Records, Waterlily Acoustics [...]
Quality Transcends
There’s a phrase from the Tao Te Ching: “Do your work, then step back.” This is my philosphy of mastering. I guess it’s sort of the Buddhist equivalent to “let the music do the talkin’.” Because for all the esoteric and technical knowledge one can accrue on a given subject, it’s the final product that [...]
The Sound and the Fury
I sat down for coffee with an aspiring engineer the other week. He was interested in getting some advice on how to break into the local music scene as an engineer. While I’m not sure I was able to give him any relevant advice — “networking is the key” was the best I could do [...]
Positive Feedback
After being in the music business for 20 years, and being a professional mastering engineer for the past eight, I’ve realized that creating solid relationships with clients as well as positive relationships with other industry professionals (read “the competition”) is as important as anything you know. Recently I got some positive feedback on both fronts [...]
My·o·pi·a
As a follow-up to yesterday’s client question, it makes me remember that everyone gets obsessed about what’s on their radar. Ever realize that you never notice something until someone mentions it?
A few years back my wife was considering getting a Honda CR-V. She wasn’t familiar with the model (it was for sale on her employer’s [...]
Valid Question
I received an e-mail the other day from a potential client. He had a valid question that I thought beared blogging about…
I noticed on your site that most of gear you have are plug-ins. I was under the impression that there is a lot of hardware used when mastering.
My answer…
Most professional mastering engineers today use [...]
Stochastic Google
If I stripped away everything from my persona, I’d say I’m a composer at the core; a sensibility that’s served me well as a mastering engineer, as I’m trying to make recordings “more musical” and hear inside them to know what to bring out.
In 20th Century composition, there’s a compositional technique known as “stochastic.” Something [...]
The Tape Project
About a year ago I became aware of The Tape Project. The short story, for those who don’t click on the link: it’s a collaboration between a few mastering studios, a hi-fi manufacturer and a tape machine refurbisher to re-master recordings for 1/4″ two-track open reel format and supply the necessary mod to existing “consumer-grade” [...]
keep looking »About This Blog
From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
We welcome comments from readers...pro or con!
